This paper on the Affordable Medicines Facility (AMFm) covers the background, health and economic rationale, design, risk and risk mitigation strategies, as well as the roles of the World Bank in developing the AMFm. For millions of people in developing countries, malaria is a major source of misery, ill health and premature death. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about 40 percent of the world's population, mostly those living in the world's poorest countries, are at risk of malaria. Every year, more than 300 million people become ill with malaria. Most cases and deaths are in sub-Saharan Africa. However, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and parts of Europe are also affected. The core package of supporting interventions includes the following six elements: (i) national policy and regulatory preparedness; (ii) wholesaler incentives and price/margin control mechanisms; (iii) public education and awareness campaigns; (iv) provider training and supervision; (v) national monitoring and quality preparedness, with drug resistance monitoring and quality surveillance; and (vi) monitoring and evaluation. Will the AMFm work in practice? This was the main question during the design of the AMFm. Will the lower prices achieved through the co-payment be passed on to the consumers? How can we ensure that patients benefit directly from the cost savings? Will the increase in artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), usage speed up, rather than forestall, resistance to artemisinin? These are all valid questions that have been, and continue to be, considered at great length by the organizations working on the AMFm.